Chalk Talk with Coach Scott: Roth vs. Traditional
USAA Certified Financial Planner Scott Halliwell (Coach Scott) uses a farmer’s field to explain the difference between Roth and Traditional IRAs.
Recession Repair: 6 Steps to Get Your Retirement Back on Track
Did your retirement train get knocked completely off the tracks as it passed through the Great Recession of 2008? If so, you’re not alone. Despite officially ending in mid-2009, our country’s most recent financial fiasco left countless ...
College Students: 4 Smart Money Moves
Though it seems like forever ago that I was a wide-eyed 18-year-old headed off for college (maybe because it was?), I can still vividly remember my sense of excitement. The mountain was mine to climb! And while I wouldn’t trade my college ...
Could you survive a major pay cut?
That’s a question none of us ever wants to answer. Unfortunately, it’s a harsh reality many Americans face these days. If you’re looking at a financial crunch, here’s a 5-step strategy designed to help you weather the ...
5 Ways to Spend Your Income Tax Refund
Are you part of the American tax-filing majority who’s about to get a big, fat tax refund? If so, I have a question: What are you going to buy yourself with it? What? A stranger is asking how you plan to spend your tax refund instead of ...
Sequestration: Tactics to Prepare Your Federal Paycheck
With no alternative plan emerging in Washington, D.C., $85 billion in automatic 2013 federal spending cuts are set to kick in on March 1, and the government’s response will affect the income of hundreds of thousands of federal workers, ...
When to Use Credit or Debit
So which card is better to use — your credit or debit card? “It really depends,” says Scott Halliwell, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner with USAA. “I typically tell people to avoid using credit cards because of the ...
Exit Strategy: Pay and Benefit Issues When Leaving the Military
A lot of changes occur when you leave the military, especially in the area of pay and benefits. You may not have spent a lot of time analyzing your exit strategy regarding military pay and benefits package, but as you transition out of the ...
Stress and Cash During Military Transition
Change brings stress, and leaving the military brings a truckload of it to your doorstep. Not only is the transition a major life event, it’s also a major financial event. Picture this: You just decided to quit your job. You haven’t ...
Is a Bigger Tax Refund Better?
Call me crazy, but about this time every year an image pops into my head of Paul Revere riding a horse, swinging a lantern, and screaming, “Your refund is coming!
